Combination electric lock-switch.



R. 0. HAMMUND.

COMBINATION ELECTRIC LOCK SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, I916.

1,21 5,800. Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

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ROBERT O. HAMMOND, OF PATERSON,'NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HAMMOND SAFETY AUTO LOCK 00., OF PA'IERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW ERSEY.

COMBINATION ELECTRIC LOCK-SWITCH.

Specification of LettersPatent.

- Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

To all whom/it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT O. HAMMOND,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Combination Electric Lock-Switches, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in electric lock switches especially adapted to cooperate With the magneto and coil used in connection with combustion engines or the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a combination lock switch which is operable only by those familiar with the combination of the same and so constructed and arranged so as to readily permit the prompt change in said combination any number of times, if so desired.

Another object of this invention isto provide a combination lock switch especially adapted for use in connection with Ford motor cars or the like, thus providing a means whereby the operator of such "a car may leave his car in a public thoroughfare or the like without fear that the same will be unlawfully used by those without authority during his absence, as he alone is familiar with the combination of said switch and should those who take advantage of his absence attempt to use the car they would find an endless task confronting them in attempting to arrange the proper combination of said switch andas it would be impossible to start the engine equipped with such a switch without knowing the correct combination thereof the owner of such a car 1s certain to return and find the same awaiting.

him, thus this switch eliminates the pro: voking results of returning to find your car gone and in the hands of those who so frequently make use of parked cars espe: cially in the congested business sections of large cities.

A further object of this invention is to provide a switch having a visible lamp thereon which when the proper combination of said switch is arranged, thus completing the circuit, will light, thereby signifying to the operator that the ignition system is in proper working order and under controlbut should said lamp fail to light after the proper combination is arranged and the circuit completed the operator will readily understand 'the difliculty, realizing that the ignition system is out of order and requires overhauling, thus this little lamp will readily signify to the operator the condition of the ignition system should he have difficulty in starting his machine. A still further object of this invention'is the provision of a switch having a series of disks mounted thereon and which are termed in the unlocked form when all of said disks are so arranged so as to complete the circuit.

This unlocked condition is produced by the movement of said disks by the operator until each disk is in engagement with its respective contact points, otherwise should any one of these disks or all of said, disks be out of engagement with their respective contact points this switch will then be termed in the locked form.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention resides in the novel features of construction, formation, combination, and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed, and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a front elevation of my combination lock switch, illustrating the same mounted upon a portion of the dash board of an auto or the like,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same,

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View of said switch removed from dash board,

Fig. l is a front elevation of the same with disks, shown in dotted lines,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 1, looking in the di rection indicated by arrows, and

Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view of one of the disks removed.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by similar characters of referencethroughout, the numeral 1 designates a portion of the dash board of an automobile or the like having secured thereto my combination electric lock switch 2 consisting of a series of small disks 9, 10, and 11 rotatably mounted in a larger disk 4.

This large disk 4 has a cup-like inner face 5 formed therein while its outer face has a series of contact chambers 6, 7, and 8 formed therein for the reception of said disks 9, 10, and 11 to be hereinafter more fully described. Each of these contact chambers is countersunk and has formed in the bottom thereof in circular alinement with the periphery thereof a series of threaded apertures 12 while in close proximity to these apertures 12 is a larger aperture 13. These apertures 12 are for the reception of a plurality of conducting members 14, the upper.

ends of which are rounded and extend slightly above the surface of the bottom of said chambers while the lower ends thereof extend downwardly and into the cup-like inner face 5 and are threaded to receive a nut 15 or the like as a means for securing thereto the end of a wire or the like.

Each of these contact chambers has a plurality of these'oonducting members 14c secured therein and, as clearly illustrated by Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that a wire A has one end thereof secured to one of these conducting members 14.- secured in the contact chamber 6 while its opposite end engages a' like member in the contact chamber 8 while the remaining member 14: in chamber 8 has connected thereto one end of another wire C the opposite end of which engages a like member in the chamber 7 thus it will be readily understood that the wires A and C engage like members in each chamber.

Passing through the larger aperture 13 in chambers 7 and 8 are extra long threaded terminals 15 and 16 both of which provide a means for securing the switch to the desired object through the medium of nuts 17 while the free end of each terminal has a nut or the like 18 secured thereto as a means for connecting therewith the ends of the customary wire and as illustrated by Fig. 2 of the drawing it is to be clearly seen that the customary magneto wire E is in engagement with the terminal 15 while the customary coil wire F is in engagement with the other terminal 16.

Intermediate the length of these terminals are nuts 19 and 20 the nut 20 mounted upon the terminal 15 adapted to hold in engagement therewith at one end thereof a lamp contact 21 the opposite end of which engages the customary terminal of a suitable lamp 22 mounted in an aperture 23 formed in the disk a, While the nut 19 mounted upon the terminal 16 is adapted to connect therewith one end of a wire 13 the opposite end of which is in engagement with another of the conducting members if of the chamber 6, and secured to the remaining conducting member 1 1 of the chamber 7 is one end of a lamp engaging wire D thus completing the wiring of said switch.

Each of said contact chambers 6, 7, and 8 is as before stated for the reception of its respective disks 9, 10, and 11. These disks have an aperture 23 formed therein for the reception of a bolt 24 which passes therethrough and is threaded at the lower terminal thereof to be received by a like countersunk portion centrally located in the bottom of each contact chamber thus it will be seen that each of said disks is therefore rotatably ends of the conducting members Hand as a 7 means for readily forcing these depressions 27 into proper engagement with their respective members at the proper time, 1 have provided each disk with a suitable coil spring 28 which encircles a portion of the bolt 24 and is incased in a suitable housing 29 formed in the neck 30 integral with each disk and offset at the outer terminal thereof so as to produce a suitable thumb bearing by which the operator may readily rotate each disk as desired. The plate 26 is split so as to produce a dummy plate the object of Which is toproduce means whereby the clicking caused by the operator rotating the disk, is registered just the same as when the plate 25 registers properly, thus producing the same clicking result when passing over the rounded elevated ends'of the conducting members 14 as that of the plate 25 and thus greatly confusing those who attempt to properly adjust said disk without authority.

Displayed in circular alinement upon the disk l and around each of the contact chambers are letters from A to R of the alphabet while the disks in general arenumbered 1, 2, and 3 therefore to operate this switch and complete the circuit one must know the com bination of said disks 1, 2,. and 8 for in stance, as illustrated by Fig. 1 of the drawings, the circuit is shown completed as the plate 25 of disk 9 is in contact with two conducting members 14L secured within the chamber 6 while thesimilar plate on disk 11 is in a similar position of engagement and so is the remaining similar plate on disk 10. V 7

Therefore the current received through the terminal 15, through the medium of the ma neto engaging wire E will pass through the lamp contact 21 through the lamp socket and into the wire D, through the plate 25 upon disk 10, into the wire C, through the plate 25 of disk 11, into the wire A, through the plate 25 upon the disk 9, then into the wire B and out through the terminal 16 which conveys it through the medium of the wire F into the coil, thus completing the circuit and lighting the lamp mounted in the disk 4: and which is provided as beforestated to assure the operator that his ignition system is in proper working order.

From the above, it will be readily observed that the combination set forth by the above paragraph and illustrated by Fig. l of the drawings is E, E, and K and to complete the circuit each disk must be properly manipulated so that the arrow indicated thereon points to its respective letter and when all three arrows indicate the proper letters the combination is then correct and the lamp will then light as soon as the circuit is completed.

While the drawing illustrates a certain combination it is to be remembered that this combination can be changed any number of times owing to the fact that each contact chamber has a series of threaded apertures 12 formed in the bottom thereof and any of which are adapted to receive the conducting members 14 if transferred from their present location and as each of these apertures is designated upon the face of the disk by a difi'erent letter of the alpha bet it will be readily observed that upon changing the present arrangement of the conducting members 14: the combination upon the face of the disk changes also and in fact can be changed an unlimited number of times. It may be further stated that the terminals may also be rearranged if so desired, thus it will be understood that with a switch of this description it is quite impossible for any one but those familiar with the'combination to complete the circuit, in order to start an engine or the like equipped with such a combination lock switch.

It is now thought that the above description together with the accompanying drawing sufficiently set forth the construction and operation of this device to enable those familiar with this art to readily understand the construction, operation, and many advantages of the same.

It shouldbe understood, however, in this connection that various minor changes in the details of construction may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

From the foregoing disclosure taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,

it will be manifest that I have provided an electric lock switch composed in general of any suitable non-conductive material and adapted for use more particularly in connection with the ignition apparatus of Ford automobiles or the like and which will fulfil all of the necessary requirements of such a device.

Having thus fully described this invention, what I claim, as new and wish to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. A combination electric lock switch comprising a disk having a series of contact chambers formed therein, a plurality of conducting members mounted in each of said chambers, a disk rotatably mounted in each of said contact chambers, a plurality of contact plates secured to each of said disks and having a plurality of depressions formed therein for engagement with said conducting members, one of said plates being inter- Inediately separated to produce a dummy plate, a series of wires connected with said conducting members, a coil spring cooperating with each of said disks and housed within the integral neck of the same and means Visible upon the outer face of the first mentioned disk and upon each of the series of disks as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A combination electric lock switch comprising a disk having a series of contact chambers formed therein, each of said chambers having a series of apertures formed therein for the reception of a plurality of conducting members, a disk mounted in each of said contact chambers, means carried by said disks for engagement with said contact members, a plurality of terminals secured to the first mentioned disk, a lamp contact carried by one of said terminals and in engagement with a lamp carried by the first mentioned disk, a series of wires connected with said conducting members, one of said wires engaging the intermediate portion of another of said terminals another of said wires in engagement with said lamp and a plurality of wires engaging the outer end of each of said terminals as and for the purpose set forth.

ROBERT O. HAMMOND. Witnesses:-

GEO. S. Dnwls, JOHN E. TYLEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

